Smithy

The writers had fun with that article!

A short walk from this park is the main north/south road through town. It's a busy road, fairly easy to cross despite the traffic, but there's also a path under the nearby bridge. During the busiest times that's my preferred route to the other side. There, one finds some of the aforementioned not-Cooper's restaurants, a museum, the Visitor's Center, and a lovely botanical / sculptural garden that improves each time we visit. This curious sculpture appeared recently. Next to the sculpture is Tommy's Mesquite-Fired Pizza. I've been curious about them for a long time. I'm not sure I've ever had wood-fired pizza, as opposed to what gets delivered from Pizza Hut or Domino's when we're traveling and staying in hotels. I've been wondering what the fuss is about, but they're only open on Fridays and Saturdays and we've never managed a visit. We checked it out earlier in the day, when the pizza oven was getting going and the staff had their own separate grilled foods ready for snacking. "Help yourself to some asparagus!" said the proprietor. This pencil-thin asparagus had been a bargain find at the grocery store. From what I could tell it was simply the untrimmed spears laid on foil and generously dosed with butter. I'll try that in the future. I think I might trim the stems, but that's a minor quibble. It was good. (He didn't offer me any of the pork tenderloin!) Here's their menu, printed on the business card he gave me. When the time came for dinner, I walked back under the bridge and placed an order: Pepperoni and Italian Sausage on the entire pizza, jalapenos and mushrooms on half. He only charged me $13, since I was only using half the extra toppings! I'd been prepared to spend $14, so the extra dollar went into the tip jar. (I might note that this was an extra-inexpensive dinner, since I'd scooped up $7 in found money during trash pickup earlier in the day!) They also offer salads and drinks, but I didn't investigate them. While I waited for my pizza, I took pictures of the outside dining area. It was cool and windy, and I think everyone else had done as I intended: taken their order to go. I carefully photographed around people; it wasn't as deserted as my photos seem to imply. I enjoyed watching the oven operation. In between pizzas the cook would rake coals forward over the front bricks to reheat the surface, then scrape them back and brush the bricks to clear ash before laying down the next batch of pizzas. The proprietor kept the storage area under the oven chamber filled with fresh wood. I heard the occasional admonishment to "watch the fire and don't let it go out" so it's possible the cook was in training. This wood-fired pizza oven procedure may be common knowledge for most of you, but I'd never seen the process before yesterday evening. It looked easy but took a lot of attention. I went to check out the sculpture more carefully. The placards made it all clear: it was a collaborative effort on the part of some local Junior High School and High School students, with guidance from very good teachers. The creativity and multidisciplanary nature of this is wonderful. There's a solar panel atop it with LED's running in strategic locations. Maybe tonight I'll go back after dark to see how it looks. I finished admiring and photographing this project at about the time my pizza order was ready. They handed me this box... ...I went back under the bridge and to the Princessmobile... ...and deliciousness ensued. The pizza had a thin crust, crisp on the bottom, with a bit of charring that seems to be the main goal of our die-hard pizza fans. I liked the bite. I loved the tang of the tomato sauce beneath the topping. There were no leftovers for breakfast this morning.

I think it's obvious that we come to Llano in part because we like the park and the area, but mostly because we love the Texas barbecue. I don't wish to imply that there are no other dining options around. There's a Chinese restaurant, at least two Mexican restaurants, at least one Italian restaurant. They may all be excellent, but they aren't 'cue. Last night I decided that we really needed to try something from someone other than Cooper's. My darling would have been pleased with leftovers from Cooper's (we have a lot) but he knew the unyielding signs of my determination. I'll show in the next post what I chose for us to eat. Right now I'm going to take you on a small walk around town to get a bit more flavor of Llano. I was on my way to Miller's Smokehouse, home of some fine house-made sausages and stuffed jalapenos of various types. Oops. They're closed on Sundays. The Hungry Hunter, across the road, isn't. The Llano Crawfish Open was this weekend, hence their sign. It looked like they were doing land-office business. Cooper's, a couple of blocks away, was also open and doing brisk business. But Miller's is closed on Sundays. No stuffed jalapenos from them this time! I spoke with someone who'd worked the crawfish festival this weekend. He said they'd cooked something like 15,000 (or was it 18,000?) pounds of the little devils. It might have been fun. It might have been a very loud scene. Given the fact that the pandemic is far from over, we weren't interested in making the drive and checking it out. Seen around town: It's been cool the last few days, but the flowers are still spectacular I generally only show the pretty stuff, but this town has a wide variety of houses, from well-tended to, er, thoroughly lived in Creative display at an "antiques" store

That's a great idea. We live out in the country, so it wouldn't work for us, but you've given me an idea. (I tried in vain to find a library that would let me donate my collection to their used book sales. No dice.) Much of my magazine collection has already gone to recycling, but since our Farmers' Markets will reopen this summer (I hope) they're a potential giveaway source. Hmm, even the Little Free Libraries are a possibility.

That sounds sensible, but I can vouch that my grandparents' tree was satisfactory for over 20 years...as long as they needed it. I forgot to mention the grapefruit branch. As far as the sour orange rootstock taking over...well, that's what suckering and pruning are about. Ask me how I know about those sucker thorns!

My ideal would be to graft a branch or three of different lemons on the same rootstock. So in Franci's case, graft a bud or three of Lisbon (or Eureka, whichever grows better there) lemons to the Meyer. My father was very good at that sort of thing. He grafted a variety of citrus onto one orange tree for his parents. As I recall that single tree had Valencia and Navel oranges, Mandarin oranges (what we called tangerines back then) and lemons - probably Lisbon, certainly whatever passed for the standard lemon there. It was their "fruit salad" tree.

It IS pretty funny, although I'm sure Marks & Spencer doesn't think so. I wonder how many news articles and blog posts are already out there showing how easy it is to make your own caterpillar cake. The (admittedly clever) concept seems a difficult thing for M & S to protect, even though they may have been the first to market it.

The plancha made me laugh aloud in self-recognition. We have never had such an appliance, new or old, but I've lusted after the concept and I imagine I'd have exactly the same experience as yours. I gave away to my DIL the oversized electric heavy-duty electric skillet that I'd bought for party purposes because it sat unused. She cooks for crowds. My version of a crowd these days is 6 dinner guests. I have much the same feeling about restaurants. i miss the swishy restaurant experience but my husband doesn't, so we so far settle (post-vaccinations) for places that can cook things we can't or I won't.

This essay made me laugh. Cookbooks are great, pastry is easy.... I think he nailed what's so wonderful about restaurants. His discussion about the value of cookbooks and of his kitchen remodeling was fun. I fear I recognized a bit of myself in his comments about ambition vs. reality. 😄

Thanks. Speaking of brew: we went to Cooper's Old-Time Barbecue again tonight for takeout. Third time this week so far, oink! This time around I asked for a Lone Star beer. The gentleman behind the counter pulled one out of the ice and handed it to me. In the excitement of paying, loading up on sides, visiting with clerks who said "welcome back, glad to see you again" I forgot the beer. I missed it only when we got back to the Princessmobile. I drove back up the couple of blocks, walked in, and the gentleman greeted me with a smile. "I kept it cold for you!" he said, and pulled the bottle back out of the ice. 🙂 Gotta love that level of customer service! The story takes a strange turn, though. The bottle looked odd, and after a moment I realized it had a plain silver cap. Normally it would have a Texas star on it. Worse yet, when I twisted the lid off there was no rebus inside! Whaaa...? That's the main point of the beer! I need to find out whether they've dropped the puzzle permanently or are experiencing a temporary bottle cap shortage.

Aww, how cute! Thanks for the link. 🙂

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I'd like that insurance adjuster to come see what hail did to my airplane's paint one year! Still, it could have been worse here. Just before I climbed up to the roof I was talking to some RVers who are staying in a campground a mile or two away. Their hail was somewhere between golf ball and baseball sized. Punched holes in all of the air conditioner covers! We only had cracks in the one skylight, and no other visible damage to the Princessmobile. Thanks on the compliment about the food! My best friend and her husband trade off cooking duties. More than once this year she's texted me: "what are your dinner plans tonight? I'm looking for ideas!" 😄 Thanks also for the well-wishes on my darling. It's never fun to be sick. I think he'll be better after another day of rest.

Since we arrived in Texas we've been eating a lot of 'cue, some of it excellent and some a bit less so. I'm still working on the excellent ribeye you see in the picture below. His brisket was a bit overdone, to our dismay. I think tonight I'll be working to use some of the less satisfactory leftovers in a vegetable-heavy dinner. My darling's a bit under the weather and there's no point in spending beaucoup bucks if he isn't going to enjoy it. In the meantime, I am working on a good late-afternoon salad as I type. Speaking of being "under the weather", we were under a hailstorm last night. I've never experienced anything like it although it isn't terribly unusual for this area. The din was incredible in the Princessmobile! There's minor dimpling on the pickup. We've spotted a broken skylight over the shower that needs to be taped to get us home, and that's my next project. Still, all the rain and humidity has its compensations. As in past years we're a bit taken by surprise to remember what "green" looks like. The flowers are far more abundant and showy than we've been seeing. Yesterday we went into a grocery store for a few things: mostly the fruit he needs for his breakfast fruit salad, but I needed a few items also. While we were there I perused the meat counter, of course. This store is where I first saw "cookout packs" with all the fixings for specific grilling adventures. It's also where I first saw do-it-yourself kits for jalapeno poppers and realized it might actually be easy to make them! My technique still needs work, and I intend to avail myself of the excellent ready-to-cook setups here, but I owe Lowe's thanks for the inspiration to try making them myself.

I didn't think of that. I think it's ceramic, but it's still heavy enough that it might make a good stable watering bowl. Thanks for the idea!

Spotted in a Dollar Store today: a $10 "Dutch Oven". At least, that's how it's labeled. It looks like it's about a quart, maybe slightly bigger. It also looks pretty useless, if one's used to cooking in a real Dutch Oven. 😉

I have one more New Mexico post. We drove 30 miles north to Deming one day for groceries. There are two grocery stores in town - three, if you count the Walmart Superstore - but we prefer Pepper's. We're pretty sure it's a one-off grocery store rather than a chain. Their produce is pretty good, and their selection of ingredients for Mexican or New Mexican food is very good. I was surprised by the diminutive size of these pomegranates. I didn't buy any. Their tortilla selection is broad: flour or masa, large or small, with or without lard. Then there are these stacks of tortillas that are made each day. This huge cooler is, in this case, a warmer. The aroma whenever someone opens the lid is marvelous! The meat section is decent. We kinda wanted ribs, and he always wants more pork, but we bought neither. We knew we had plenty for the time being, and our cooking time is running out. Outside the store, we drove around Deming and admired some of the building murals and artwork. When we got back to Columbus we made this amusing restaurant discovery: We didn't go in, but we loved the name!

No, we didn't see a difference either way as far as Covid-19 precautions. Officials in both directions were masked. Signs in both directions (and languages) said to wear masks. It was easier to cross into Mexico, as it always has been in our opinion, than to come back. (We always bring passports.) We were on foot. There's $5 parking next to the border crossing, so it's quite easy to leave the pickup and walk.

...and I remember being able to wander Pier 1 stores! I was so sorry when they announced they were closing the stores; they were favorite Retail Therapy places for me.

Yesterday we drove south 3 miles from Columbus, New Mexico and braved the border crossing into Palomas, Chihuahua. Our objective was The Pink Store, quite distinctive for its garish pink exterior. It's a Mexican import shop of sorts, carrying goods from all over that country at inexpensive prices. I love to shop there, and the food is good. We'd been told that the Pink Store paid careful attention to Covid-19 precautions, and it seemed to be the case. A masked woman met us at the door with a spray bottle of hand sanitizer. Masks were required inside the store except at table, or when perusing the shelves and enjoying a complimentary margarita. There's pottery, glassware that I find endlessly tempting, blankets and jewelry and marionettes, clothing and statuary and decorative tiles and gewgaws of all sorts and sizes. I was on a mission for a friend, but also selected some place mats for myself. The self-indulgence wasn't just due to the margarita I was having. I've learned the hard way that one can't count on finding quite the same items from one trip to the next. I have blue-rimmed glasses (you'll see some below, on our lunch table) and a big blue-rimmed salad bowl of the same pattern that I inherited from my parents. One year the store had individual salad bowls of that pattern. I resisted the temptation. On our following trip I'd decided to buy them, but there were none to be found. I've never seen them since. We went into the restaurant. The tables were spaced much farther apart than in previous visits. Wait staff wore masks. There were no mariachis strolling and singing from table to table. We sat, and a waiter came promptly to us. Would we like drinks? Yes, please. More margaritas! They brought them with freshly fried tortilla chips, a delicious mild red salsa and a hotter-than-heck pico de gallo. We left that alone after a bite or two. We agonized over the menu. So many choices! After we ordered, we asked our waiter about the plaza outside. "Didn't there used to be a statue of General Pershing out there, in answer to the statue of Pancho Villa in the main plaza?" He thought there had been, and it had been sold. "Everything out there and in here is for sale. Furniture, decorations, everything. If it doesn't move, it's for sale. That's why we never stand still!" My darling ordered a taco salad, the first he's tried that actually came in a formed tortilla bowl. See how nicely puffed that tortilla is? I dithered and debated and finally asked our waiter for advice, and he recommended the chiles rellenos. I'm glad I took his advice. Yes, it was huge. Yes, it was delicious. Yes, I ate it all! I was curious what kind of chile I was eating. It was about the size and shape of a poblano, but much lighter green and without any heat. My waiter said they call it a Chile California. When I asked further, he pulled up his cell phone to show me a picture. His picture was of Anaheim chiles. I've never seen them so big. The filling was tender chicken, and Mennonite cheese, and the batter around the chile was delicate. The mild green chile sauce and the shredded cheese set it off to perfection. The refried beans were also wonderful. While I was swooning over my food, my darling discovered that his salad had generous quantities of meat, and that the bowl was edible! He was delighted too. On the way back across the border we found a wall decoration depicting Columbus, Palomas, and various businesses on both sides of the border. A photo of the whole thing wouldn't have done it justice because of its long, squiggly shape. Here are excerpts

I too love these trips and the seafood and seascapes you show us. Many thanks!

I love tamarind, but have always avoided the pods that you show because the blocks of paste are trouble enough for me. I also have no idea whether the "fresh" tamarind pods I see in the New Mexico grocery stores are really fresh. Next time you're snacking on these, would you please post photos of the interior part that you actually eat? Is it a soft pulp, or fairly dry, or...? If I thought I had a clue about these things I might try some from a USA grocery store.

I mentioned that the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was only partly opened, and that the restaurants my friends and I visited were opened with reduced capacity. I'm sorry to report that Old Tucson, the theme park and movie studio, was not as fortunate. It isn't a temporary closure. According to news articles I found, Old Tucson's attendance and revenues had been declining for years. When their Paycheck Protection Program funds ran out, they closed indefinitely. In September 2020 they announced that it was permanent. I'm sorry they didn't survive, and glad we went when we did. You can read my best entry about it here. On the other hand, it appears that Columbus, New Mexico has managed to hang on and even invest some money in improvements. The small downtown area has new sidewalks and fresh paint, and looks downright spiffy. Los Milagros Hotel, formerly known as Martha's Place, is a fine example. Maybe it took a few miracles to stay alive. Pancho Villa State Park is only marginally open. The State of New Mexico has cut back on available campsites, perhaps for capacity limitations, and the museum and offices are closed. That's a mixed blessing. The museum has been closed since May 2020 (how can they keep operating?) but we have a lot more elbow room than we had in Tucson. I got takeout from the Borderland Cafe, which had its soft opening when we were here 4 years ago. I put on my mask and waited inside so I could snap photos and chat with the owner, who was operating the grill. He says they're doing steady business and the place is sustaining itself. They've hired help - at least one staff member, who took my order and my money. They have outdoor dining as well as indoor. If you look online you'll find they don't have their own web page, but you'll find menus others have posted online. Those menus are out of date. This is the current menu. I was disappointed to find that they've taken gyros and any other Middle Eastern food they used to have off the menu. When the place first opened there was the standard "American" food (burgers and the like) and predictable Mexican food, but there were also some selections reflecting the Jordanian heritage of the husband. I asked about it and was told that the gyros (etc.) had been dropped from the menu when they hired staff, to make it easier for them. I suspect it had more to do with not getting enough sales. This is probably not a hot spot for Middle Eastern cuisine. Still, I was disappointed. I brought home a Pershing Burger with regular fries for my darling and a Pancho Burger with enchilada fries for myself. I'd asked for all the fixings - including pickles. As you see, the burgers were huge. The buns were grilled and warm, and the burgers far better than anything we could have gotten at the ASDM's Ironwood Grill. Both sets of fries were also delicious, and I learned today that the leftovers reheat nicely although they look like something even the dog wouldn't touch. Still. It was what I'd call standard American fare, with a nice green chile twist. I wish them well, but we'll probably save our future calorie splurges on our own food, or on less-familiar (to us) cuisine. Gratuitous photo of a palo verde in bloom, seen enroute to Tucson. Aren't those yellow-frosted limbs beautiful?

The color of the sauce was right for cilantro, but we couldn't detect that distinctive cilantro flavor. You might have a good guess about how that lasagna is made! I'll have to try that and see whether it gets the texture right. Fresh pasta especially sounds on the target as far as the texture goes. I have no idea how one would accomplish the characteristic ruffles of lasagna noodles, though. They weren't flat.

Thank you! We are still far from home, and I have a few more stories that may be of interest. I'll start with my trip to Tucson just before we left. My best friends, who live in San Diego, masterminded an outing for themselves, 3 other friends and me. They're all suburban dwellers who've been severely more locked down than we have due to crowded living conditions. All of us been fully vaccinated and were outside the 14 day post-vaccination window, so they decided that an excursion to Tucson would be great fun. They swung by the Princessmobile for a picnic lunch and to pick me up. Everyone packed lunches, both for ease of cleanup afterward and because of various dietary restraints. (One person is gluten-intolerant. Another can't have garlic.) My darling and I showed them around the Princessmobile and camp, then dined and visited. There were several salads to share. Mine was a tomato and basil salad, dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I hesitate to call it "Caprese" because I forgot the mozzarella, but it went over well. It featured some of the tomatoes discussed above, and basil leaves from a plant I bought some time ago and have managed to keep alive. For dessert there was a delicious gluten-free apricot and almond tart, courtesy of our gluten-intolerant guest, and a passion fruit panna cotta that I'd made. Both were big hits. I plan to add them to my regular rotation of desserts for dinner guests. I didn't take photos of the picnic, but there was a small amount of panna cotta left for later. On our first night we ate at Mariscos Chihuahua. It was strange and a bit discomfiting to actually go into a restaurant! This place's Covid-19 precautions seemed thorough and reassuring. Customers wore masks except when seated at table. The tables were spaced far apart. The wait staff all wore masks. The ventilation was good. The food was excellent, and once again I got no photos. (We all love food, but none of these friends 'gets' the food-blogging thing.) We split a bottle of wine - Chateau Souverain Merlot, a new favorite for me - and two of our party had margaritas served in massive tumblers. We split an order of oysters on the half shell. Several of us had their Camarones Culichi, which they describe as "The dish that mad us famous. Shrimp sauteed in our house spices served in a creamy green sauce, house salad and rice." It was delicious. Others tried fish with the same treatment. We tried to work out what the creamy green sauce was and couldn't get any hints from the waiter. It wasn't spicy-hot. The green might simply have been from parsley. The creaminess was quite rich and may have come from actual cream, or Mexican crema. The web site to which I linked above is under construction right now. Go here for a menu. Sorry about the dearth of photos! It gets better. The purpose of our trip was to visit the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The ASDM is still partially shut down due to the pandemic lockdown, and some of my favorite exhibits weren't available. There was still plenty to see. Masks were required, even outdoors. They made their point with amusing displays at the entrance. The restaurant was a real disappointment, alas. Knowing the dietary restrictions of our guests, I'd said there would be plenty of choice for everyone. I've shown the Ironwood Grill in pre-pandemic times although I can't find pictures right now. It came under new management a few years ago and, in my opinion, the quality of their sandwiches went down then although they stress locally sourced and sustainably grown foods. I was counting on their salad/taco/tamale counter. It was closed! Our only options were sandwiches or pizza. My green chile cheeseburger came on a cold bun. The fries were good. I don't think anyone was impressed, but we had a chance to sit outside in a courtyard and cool down before resuming our walking. We made up for the poor lunch with dinner and a new discovery. If you're ever in Tucson, I highly recommend Bianchi's. It's a one-off, second-generation-owned Italian restaurant. Like Mariscos Chihuahua, they seemed to take Covid-19 precautions seriously, with cleanups, spacing, and masks. The young man who came to our table turned out to be the son of the proprietor, whose mother and father established the restaurant. The recipes are his mother's. He soon had us laughing through our masks, and before we knew it half of us had been talked into that night's special, the beef lasagna. Let me tell you, that lasagna was a revelation. Is "pillowy" the right word for a fluffy, delicious, multi-layered pasta dish? "Fluffy" suggests that it was mushy or would fall apart, but it held together for every delightful bite. The sauce was delicious. This was my plate before I dug in. By the time I finished there wasn't a speck of that sauce left. The salad may look like an ordinary salad, but their house dressing was also outstanding: a vinaigrette with herbs we couldn't identify. No, he laughed when we asked: "If I told you, I'd have to kill you...and my mother would kill me anyway!" Here's the rest of the menu. I've forgotten which salad my friend across the table ordered, but I managed a shot of her dinner also. This place was a wonderful find. I hope to go visit with my darling, or with more friends, another time. The next day, we went home by way of Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakhouse in Yuma. Another restaurant chain I'd never heard of or noticed! I think they'd give In 'n' Out a run for their money, yet they weren't overwhelmed with a line. Two friends added frozen custard to their sandwich orders, then shared around. It's a marvel my clothing fit by the time I got home.